Chief Operations Officer – Nigeria
- Organization
- Starsight Energy
- Location
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Job Type
- Full-time
- Deadline for Applications
- 02/13/2025
- How to Apply
- https://starsightenergy.seamlesshiring.com/h/advanced#/jobs/view/5283and
- Where to Apply
- https://starsightenergy.seamlesshiring.com/h/advanced#/jobs/view/5283and
- Tags
- Full-time
Job Summary
The Starsight Energy Africa Holding group of companies is an Africa focused pure-play commercial and industrial (“C&I”) renewable energy service provider, covering the full scope of C&I projects, from rooftop projects to large scale corporate Power Purchase Agreements (“PPA”) backed projects. It provides carbon reduction, power security and cost savings to blue-chip clients in a number of key economic sectors including banking, healthcare, education, manufacturing and data storage. The group spans three key geographical hubs (Eastern, Southern and Western Africa) with operations in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda. It is backed by Helios Investment Partners and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (“AIIM”). https://starsightenergy.com/who-we-are/group/ PURPOSE OF THE ROLE This role is that of the Chief Operations Officer (“COO”) for the Nigerian operations of Starsight Energy, based in Lagos, Nigeria. The COO role is an executive-level management role forming part of the Nigeria country EXCO with the employee responsible for the design, build and operation of the Starsight Energy operations across Nigeria.
Job Details
The Chief Operations Officer role reports to the Managing Director and is responsible for oversight, management of and providing leadership to the Operations, Construction, and Energy System Engineering (PV&HVAC) teams. The COO is ultimately responsible for the commercial design and construction of PV solutions at client sites as well as being ultimately responsible for the operational performance of the Starsight Nigeria portfolio of operational sites. As such, the COO is expected to have a clear understanding of:
- Latest technological advancements in solar PV generation, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and HVAC. Gensets and other ancillary aspects;
- Design and integration considerations for hybrid solutions that incorporate grid, diesel gensets, BESS, energy efficiency and PV solutions;
- Commercial impact of specific design and build constructs; and
- Key performance indicators (“KPI”) related to design, construction, and operations to assess performance on a day-to-day basis.
Key attributes for the successful candidate include:
- Key member of country management setting the appropriate example for the entire technical and operational team;
- Ability to and experience in managing a large team across the country;
- Ability to and experience in managing a large number of operational sites across the country;
- Exceptional project management skills, including the ability to organize and prioritise tasks, multi-tasking, manage deadlines and operate under towards meeting deadlines;
- Ability to engage proactively with clients; and
- Decision-making based on facts.
Duties and Responsibilities:
General
- Collaborating with country and group management to align operational goals with the overall business strategy
- Setting and implementing the strategy for all technical aspects of the business, in collaboration with the country managing director and the group management
- Managing the operational safety track record and actively managing the reduction of HSE related incidents in line with the company’s “zero incident” philosophy
- Performance management of the three direct reports and other team members to align with the Starsight Code of Conduct
- Drive the implementation of the company’s “offsite generation” plan
- Continuous evaluation of new technologies with associated cost/benefit analysis to consider for deployment
- Key member of the group’s “technical working group” collaborating with technical team heads across all regions of operation
Operational
- Establish reporting protocol for daily site performance and identification of outliers;
- Monthly and quarterly reporting on operational performance to group management and the board of directors;
- Establish and monitor KPIs to ensure operational goals are met and drive continuous improvement.
- Main ownership and management of the technical working group – an initiative to evaluate technical performance of all operational sites
- Identification and implementation of methods to reduce diesel consumption where relevant;
- Managing internal key stakeholders around site operations, including HSE, customer experience, procurement
- Evaluate ongoing O&M policies, procedures as well as timing for appropriateness
- Provide technical support to Operations/Construction/Energy Systems teams for productivity enhancement, de-bottlenecking and synergy
- Develop and implement operational strategies to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability
- Continuous identification of areas of improvement around site operations, including site visits, key metrics and upskilling and training for field staff
- Monitor all project cycle time for the Operations/Construction/Design teams
- Monitor quality related issues & take corrective and preventive action as needed
- Ensure 100% responsiveness and resolution of all operational issues within the “service level agreement” timeframe
Design and construction
- Implement continuous focus on commercial implications of specific design and construction
- Set the necessary design philosophy to maintain knowledge on latest technologies and investment and continue to evaluate appropriateness
- Quarterly evaluation of capex build cost to identify and manage trends
- Work with procurement team to perform annual update of approved list of suppliers, contractors and sub-contactors
- Use stakeholders’ feedback to inform necessary improvements and adjustments to technology
- Independent review of designs on ad-hoc basis to identify “fit for purpose” and appropriateness of suggested solution
- Improve design team understanding and experience of larger BESS solutions
- Perform energy yield analyses (EYAs) and review EYAs by other parties
- Analyse client requirements for the projects to align with her expectations – with a strong focus on cost–effectiveness and constructability
- Perform client education to ensure client is fully aware of technical solution and assumptions
- Support project team with regards to site screening, initial layout design, basic grid connection design, selection of critical equipment.
- Evaluate and optimize solar and storage technology and associated balance of system components most suitable for the project
- Monitor construction performance and KPIs, in particular timing to completion, performance and cost variance analysis when compared to pricing assumptions and BoQ assumptions
- Implement necessary controls around site construction to ensure security of all equipment and excess items
Requirements
Qualifications, Experience, and Skills Required:
- Relevant engineering degree (BSc or MSc) with an MBA degree (preferred)
- 10+ years of managerial experience in the energy industry
- Proven experience in national or regional site operations (O&M planning and execution) and asset management, preferably in a solar, TowerCo, Telco or Mobile Network Operator (MNO) company
- Experience in setting and managing operational budgets
- Understanding of the workings and integration of grid, generators, batteries, and PV systems,
- Strong analytical skills with proficiency in data analysis, trend identification and analysis as well as reporting tools
Starsight Energy
Starsight Energy provides premier clean on-grid and off-grid energy services to commercial and industrial clients in Africa.
Starsight is backed by leading African Private Equity firms Helios Investment Partners and Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers.